A Gift From The Heart
by Elmblossom17
Summary: Sarah sends an unlikely gift to Jareth in hopes of a reconciliation....


A Gift From The Heart  
A Labyrinth Fanfiction  
  
J. Robinson  
06/02/'03  
  
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Labyrinth, or any characters therefrom. I  
wrote this story purely for my own enjoyment and that of the public.  
Please don't sue me!  
  
(Takes place roughly 2 & 1/2 years after Sarah defeated Jareth, after her  
18th birthday)  
  
Writing the letter was the hardest part.  
Finding the right books, boxing them up and wrapping the box, that was easy. It was writing the letter that was hard.  
It was so important that she find exactly the right words, exactly the right sentences to tell him what she'd been thinking about, in order to make him understand. He was a proud being, and she knew that he would probably find her gift insulting. That was what she wanted to prevent, because she was in no way trying to insult him.  
She was only trying to make him understand.  
She struggled with the letter for hours, searching for just the right phrase, just the right words. But eventually, she finished it. Signed her name, folded it up, and placed it into its envelope.  
She wrote the name of the recipient on the outside.  
Then, taking both box and letter in her hands, she went to the mirror and gazed into its depths.  
"Hoggle? I need you." said Sarah quietly.  
In an instant, he was there. "Hello again, missy. Good to see you!" He smiled at her, glad to see her, and she returned the smile. Then her eyes grew serious.  
"It's good to see you, too, Hoggle. But I need your help with something." She spoke softly, earnestly.  
"Anything for you, Sarah," he replied, and she smiled again.  
"Thank you. Hoggle, I have a...gift...that I need you to deliver for me." She winced inwardly. It sounded so...strange.  
"Oh, really? Who's it for?" Hoggle looked curious.  
"It's for Jareth." She winced again as she said his name, the pain flowering up and fading just as quickly as it came. Just as it did every time she said his name.  
"A...gift? For his majesty?" Hoggle was very surprised.  
"Yes. Will you please do me this one favor and take it to him? It's...important." She wasn't begging yet, but she would if he resisted.  
"Well, I guess.... What is it?" Hoggle looked slightly wary, but he wasn't saying no. Sarah felt a wave of relief roll through her.  
"A letter and a box." She held them up where he could see them, and placed them forward to touch the mirror's surface.  
Hoggle's reflection reached out toward the mirror, and then the box and the letter were out of Sarah's hands and in his. She smiled. "Thank you very much, Hoggle. You're my best friend, you know?"  
He grinned at her. "I know. And you're welcome. I'll take it to him right away. I can't guarantee that he'll accept it, but I'll try my best."  
"That's all I'm asking," Sarah said. "By the way, tell him to read the letter first, please?"  
"Sure, Sarah," he said.  
She waved at him. "Thanks again! See you later, Hoggle!"  
"See you later!" he replied with a chuckle, and then he was gone, taking Sarah's gift with him. She got up and walked across the room to her bed and laid down on it, exhausted by her day's effort. Before she knew it, she was asleep.  
  
~*~  
  
Jareth was sulking in the Throne Room when Hoggle came to find him. He glared at the dwarf coldly, the very sight of his ugly face causing the King to remember...her. "What do you want?"  
"I've been asked to deliver something to you," Hoggle said warily, holding the box carefully in his arms. "A gift."  
"I don't want it," snarled Jareth. His face twisted into a mask of rage. "Get out of my sight!"  
Hoggle trembled in fear, but stood his ground. "It is from Sarah."  
Jareth froze. "Sarah...?" he repeated, his voice soft and troubled. "Sarah sent you to me with a gift?"  
"Yes," Hoggle said, nodding his head. "Will you accept it, or shall I return and say you didn't care enough to find out what she sent you?"  
Jareth narrowed his mismatched eyes at the impudent dwarf. "Bring it here," he said in an icy tone.  
Hoggle obeyed, bringing the box forward and handing it over. "She asked me to tell you she wanted you to read the letter, first," he said.  
Jareth looked down at the box and saw the letter resting atop it. His name was written on the envelope in her delicate handwriting. He smiled involuntarily.  
He looked up again at Hoggle, who still stood in front of the throne, an uncertain look in his eyes. "I will do that," Jareth said, and smiled at the dwarf. "You may go, Hoggle."  
Hoggle left quickly, his heart still racing. His majesty smiled at me! And he even said my name right! I didn't think he even knew it! He shook his oversized head, and returned to his duties of trying to flush out those damn biting fairies that had infested the front gates.  
  
~*~  
  
Jareth took the box and the letter back to his bedchambers before opening either one. He wanted to read the letter and open the present in private, without the threat of being disturbed by one of his less-than- intelligent subjects. Of all the creatures that supposedly served him, Hoggle was one of the few with intelligence even approaching that of Jareth's own, and the King had a hard time even looking at the diminuitive being.  
He sat down in his windowseat, placed the box beside him, and stared at the letter for a moment. Then, with a smile on his face, he carefully opened it without ripping the envelope. He pulled out the folded papers inside, and unfolded them. He began to read.  
  
Dear Jareth  
Hello, Jareth. It's Sarah. How've you been? I've thought about you often since the last time we met. I've even worried about you, though I know you may find that hard to believe.  
I suppose you're wondering what this is all about. Well, don't be offended please, because that's not why I'm sending this to you. I just want you to understand why I did what I did.  
I wasn't trying to hurt you, that's the first thing. My responsibilty to Toby had to come before my own desires. I had to see that he wouldn't have to pay for my mistakes. I decided after a long time that I didn't really think you would have turned him into a goblin. You never said so, you only said 'one of us' and that doesn't necessarily mean the same thing. After all, you're the Goblin King, but you certainly don't look like a real Goblin. Or at least not any of the ones I saw. You're much more attractive, if you must know.  
But aside from that, Jareth, was what you said to me. I was terribly flattered, but the things you said...weren't what I really wanted. To be ruled by someone, to have them as a slave...that isn't a real relationship. That's a relationship that's about power and control, not love. And I want love.  
I want a partner, not a slave. Someone who will trust me and respect me, not someone who treats me as a possession. Love isn't about fear. It's about respect, and caring for the other person. Their welfare and their happiness. Not necessarily more than you own, but equally.  
If you are still interested in me, Jareth, then read the books in the box. I chose them carefully. They're books of a type that we call 'self-help,' and no I don't think you need help. That's just the kind of books they are.  
Hopefully the books will give you a better idea of what love is, what a healthy relationship is. And they'll help you understand more about what those 'dreams' you kept offering me really are. I'll tell you now, that my greatest dream is to be loved truly. And ever since the Labyrinth, it's been your true love that I want. So, if you want to offer again, then read those books. When you've read them and you understand what is in them, come to me.  
I'll wait for you.  
Love, Sarah  
  
By the time Jareth finished the letter, his hands were shaking. He felt something that he hadn't felt since she had defeated him all those years ago: hope.  
He tore off the wrapping on the box and opened it. He pulled out the first book on the pile, and looked at the title. "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus?" he read the title, confused. Then he shrugged. If reading it meant Sarah, he'd read it!  
He opened the book with a persistant grin on his face, and started to read.  
  
~*~  
  
A little over a year later, Sarah was sitting on a bench in the park where she had once come wearing a princess costume to read lines from a red- leather-bound book. She watched the sun setting over the lake, and sighed every so often at the beauty of it.  
Sarah had always loved the park. It was a place where she could think, dream, recite, and play without fear of being bothered. When she was young, she had spent more time in the park than at home. It had been her sanctuary.  
She sighed again as the sun slid beneath the horizon. "Well, there's another day gone," she murmured aloud. "Another day without you, my Goblin King."  
After a few minutes, she stood up and turned around to make her way home. The stars slowly coming out above her, she wandered slowly through the streets of the village. For once, she took her time getting home; her father and Karen had taken Toby with them to visit Karen's parents. They had invited Sarah, but she had cordially refused the invitation.  
Since her experience in the Labyrinth, Sarah had slowly begun building a relationship with Karen. They weren't quite 'mother/daughter,' but they were friends. And Toby, Toby she loved with an indulgent compassion that made her happy to stay home and watch him on certain weekends. Usually two out of four. It pleased her that her parents were still going out; she knew very well how easy it was for the passion and spontaneity to go out of a marriage, and she wanted theirs to work out.  
She smiled softly as she came up the street toward her house, currently dark and empty. She was looking forward to getting back home and having a nice night of reading the red-leather-bound book. She hadn't looked at it in a month, but she felt like tonight would be a good night to read it again.  
She went up the front steps quickly and unlocked the door, locking it again after she was safely inside. She went straight upstairs, not even bothering to stop and get something to munch on from the kitchen. She wasn't hungry, just eager to get to her room and the book.  
She wasn't expecting to find Jareth sitting at her vanity waiting for her.  
"Jareth?" she said in a shocked tone, "Is it really you?"  
He rose to his feet and came toward her with a warm smile on his face. "It's really me, Sarah," he said, and the familiarity of his smooth, cultured voice was like a soothing balm to Sarah's restless soul. She relaxed and smiled at him with a sigh.  
"It's good to see you," she said, a little shyly.  
"It's good to see you too," he said as he came to a stop in front of her. He smiled again, and she felt her heart lighten at the expression. "You said to come to you after I finished reading the books. Well, here I am, love," he said softly.  
"You read the books?" Sarah's eyes started to tear up, and she sniffled. "I...I wasn't sure you'd want to...."  
"Oh, Sarah," he said gently. "Of course I would! I would do anything for you, I thought you knew that!"  
She giggled a little. "Well, I guess you have gone to some pretty extreme extremes, you know, reordering time, turning the world upside down and all that."  
He smirked. "I'd even move the stars, if you asked."  
"Hmm, don't know about that one," she said. "I like the stars just fine where they are."  
He grinned. "Then they can stay."  
"You're so gracious," she said with a matching grin. She grabbed his hand and pulled him over to sit on her bed with her.  
"Sarah, I have to ask you something," Jareth said after a while.  
"Go ahead, ask me anything," she replied with a friendly smile.  
"Would you...." Jareth stopped and gulped, nervousness showing on his face. He licked his lips and tried again. "Would you consider...coming back to the Labyrinth? To the Castle, actually, um, to live? I'd really like it if you would because well, I, um, well.... Oh, for Danaa's sake! Sarah, will you marry me and be my Queen?!"  
Sarah stared at him for a long moment, her eyes wide, her face pale. "I...." she said, and then she threw her arms around his neck and burst out in tears. "Yes!" she cried ecstatically. "Yes, yes, yes!"  
He pulled her into a tight embrace, closed his eyes against his own happy tears, and thanked every deity he'd ever heard of that she was his. "I love you, Sarah. I love you more than anything."  
"I love you too, my Goblin King...my Jareth."  
  
THE END! 


End file.
